Actually a couple of questions.....

When you play, either alone with the headphones, or in a jam or a gig or whatever....do you actually play a whole tune without making even one mistake....even something as simple as slipping in a 16th note where it shouldn't be or something? Something probably not noticable to the majority but sticks out like a sore thumb to you??

And secondly.....how do you react to this? Do you just shut up and play through or get cranky with yourself and throw your sticks on the ground and stomp off and sulk in the corner? Well, maybe not that bad but ya know what I mean?

Just curious to see how most drummers do here.....Personally I don't think I have ever played a tune "perfect".....and depending on the situation, I will just play through mostly......and remember next time......hopefully!!

I am certainly not perfect, and even when I play a track "perfectly" (i.e. technically perfect) there are always little nuances that I know I've missed. (every time I hear certain songs that I've been on, I notice all the parts I missed - though nobody else ever mentions them). Being a studio drummer forces your chops to become basically perfect, but it often does little to help out the feel or emotion with which you play.

I sing bass in one of the top male choruses in the world - our director is always telling us that if we forsake the emotion for the technicality, we will sound better and score lower.

I think a good approach is to strive after perfection with the full knowledge that if you make a mistake, you'll improve in that area the next time. It may be unreachable, but there is always room for improvement towards that goal.

Just my .02

1. when i mess up everyone usually notices

2. i just laugh while i continue playing

haha, good times...mistakes are part of life. you gonna make mistakes, unless u are thomas lang or dave weckl! but im sure even they make a mistake.

the main things to remember when you make a mistake is to:
1) KEEP PLAYING!!!
2) Keep time (i.e. stay in time)
3) Keep playing (very NB!)

Most of the time I just play through it and remember the next time. Only rarely will I get extremely pissed at myself and stop playing for the day lol.

sometimes you can disguise mistakes with fills

i often do this with a new song that i try and learn

depends on the day...

when i played shows in high school i'd get pissed off and throw my sticks after the song and people would ask me why...normally only drummers can pick up on "mistakes" i guess.

when i jammed with my band or practiced at home, i'd take it out on my skins. i've repeatedly put sticks through my toms, bass, and snare drums hahaha. i've got 3 cracked cymbols because of it too...but i play hard, so they had help.

i find myself repeating these bad habits on my electronic kit, but thank god they can take more of a beating than skins! i dont think i'll ever buy mesh heads because i know what would happen.

i used to take out my anger from the day on my kit...but i think i need anger management hahaha

i went about 4 years without playing and have noticed a major decline in my abilities...my fills suck, i'm not as creative, and my ghost beats need serious work. i'm pretty good at keeping a beat though. i'm self taught, so i'm sure lessons would go a long way at correcting my problems...but after so long it feels like it would be a waste. i started playing at 17 or so and am 26 now, but there has been more than one big lay off in between....should i get lessons??

Hi Josh

Yes - to anger management and a definite YES to lessons from a teacher. As long as you find a teacher that you can communicate with and that you enjoy his(her) method of teaching. It wouldn't even hurt to have lessons from one teacher for a while and then change to a different teacher as you would pick up different ideas and techniques. Just make sure you have the anger management before the drum lessons otherwise the teacher may get hurt

Kate

my name is actually bill...josh freese is a session drummer and rules

he drums for a perfect circle, NIN, the vandals, and i think he's even toured with devo...he's all over.

he's great, you should youtube him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHUhEmp38ks

and possibly the best song since the parting of the red sea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXlKkzjkheg&feature=related

Hi Bill

I'm not up with drummers' names, especially the newer ones. Being 51 I can admit to knowing of Ringo Starr, but don't know much about anyone else. My daughter and I went to see/hear Grant Collins in August last year. I wanted to go to the drum workshop with Steven Adler - Guns n Roses recently but it was in Sydney on a weekday evening and I live WOW (way out west).

My name's not Kate (in real life) but I have always liked the name so chose it to use when online. Not sure if there are any professional drummers out there named Kate. Let me know if there are.

Anyway, are you considering drum lessons? I think you would find it worthwhile.

I am getting a new computer soon and will then be able to check out YouTube at home and use the lessons online to add interest and knowledge. One thing I have found is that even though you want to learn it all at once you can only get there bit by bit otherwise you (or at least me) get an overloaded brain.

from Kate Oz

I find that most mistakes can be easily covered up if your experienced enough..However another drummer or sometimes another musician can easily pick up on things gone wrong..behind the set..another drummer watching is your worst nightmare.. but a great challenge..

In the studio if I make a small mistake, I continue playing. If I make a fairly big mistake, I turn it into a fill and try to incorporate that same fill later in the song so it doesn't sound like a mistake.

When we're reviewing the song after recorded and I say "Ahhh this is where I screw up." Everyone else says, "I don't hear any screw up...sounds great." As a drummer, you usually notice your own small mistakes, so just let them go.

~Spenca

Its definitely not a good idea to pass by on stuff thats giving you trouble just to try to get to the next level stay with it until you have it..play it record it and pick it apart while listening to it.. thats what we do in the band and it makes a world of difference..